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Thursday, December 18, 2014

5 Safety Tips When Decorating Your Exterior for the Holiday.

Image courtesy of Utopian Landscapes/Christmas Décor, a member of PLANET

It’s that time of year where home owners are busy decorating their exteriors with holiday lights and making them for festival for the holidays. Many landscape and lawn care companies support their clients year-round by providing snow removal and holiday lighting in the winter. There are many safety concerns that home owners should take into consideration when putting up their own holiday lights, such as:

1. Inspect the lights and wires.

Inspect all lights, decorations and extension cords before using. Wires can become brittle.Throw lights away if there is exposed copper or broken sockets.

2. Don’t overload circuits and watch for electrical concerns.

Avoid connecting five or more strands end to end, otherwise the circuit can be overloaded. However, for many LEDs you can add more than five strands. Also, do not pull the strands too tight so they can reach an outlet. Other electrical concerns to watch for:

Tears in the wiring surface could result in electrocution.

When creating a lighting configuration on a lawn, make sure to keep connections out of depressions that could collect ground water.

Be sure to tape down extension cords if they cross walkways.

3. Read the labels carefully for outdoor use.

LED lights re more energy efficient and require less wattage than incandescent bulbs. But make sure the lights and extension cords are rated for indoor and outdoor use or specifically for outdoor use. Outdoor lights should be plugged into circuits protected by ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs.). Also, don’t replace light bulbs without unplugging the light strand or decoration.

4. Take caution on rooftops or elevated areas.

Ladders should be inspected – look for lose or missing screws, hinges, bolts and nuts before using and be sure they are stable and in good condition. Be sure to ground the ladder on a solid, even surface with no risk of sliding.

Don’t overreach when on ladders. When stringing lights, climb down and move the ladder often. Also, keep ladders as far as possible from electrical lines. Finally, if the roof is too steep or too high, don’t risk scaling it and endangering yourself. Hire a trained landscape professional that has the training to offer unique installation methods and premium quality products with the latest trends in decoration and technology.

5. Remove lights at the end of the holiday season. Over a period of time, lights exposed to the weather can have damage to the wires, lights, and sockets. Watch for any weather damage before you tow the lights away for next year.

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

2015: The Return of the Millennial Home Buyer

Earlier this month, Zillowpredicted
that millennial buyers (under the age of 35) will become the largest
group of buyers, overtaking Gen X (35-50 years old) by the end of 2015.
Dr. Stan Humphries, Zillow Chief Economist, explained:

"Roughly 42 percent of millennials say they want to
buy a home in the next one to five years, compared to just 31 percent of
Generation X, and by the end of 2015 millennials will become the
largest home-buying age group. The lack of home-buying activity from
millennials thus far is decidedly not because this generation isn't
interested in homeownership, but instead because younger Americans have
been delaying getting married and having children, two key drivers in
the decision to buy that first home. As this generation matures, they
will become a home-buying force to be reckoned with."

Two days later, Realtor.com also projected that Millennials will be a driving force in the housing market next year. In their 2015 Housing Forecast, they claim:

“Households headed by millennials will see
significant growth as a reflection of economic gains. Millennials will
also drive two-thirds of household formations over the next five years.
Next year's addition of 2.75 million jobs and increased household
formation will be the two key factors driving first-time buyer sales.”

Has the Millennial Home Buyer already re-entered the market?

AEI’s International Center on Housing Risk also released their first First-Time Buyer Mortgage Share Index
this month. The report revealed that the percentage of first time home
buyers may have been underestimated in 2014. According to the report,
the percentage of first time buyers “averaged an estimated 46 percent over the 12 months ending October 2014”.

That number far exceeds other numbers reported by the National Association of Realtors and others.

Bottom Line

The Millennial generation is growing up, finding jobs, getting
married and starting families. Homeownership will definitely be the next
step.

Thursday, December 11, 2014

Realtor conference today. Predictions of mortgage rates for 2015 is 5% and 6% for 2016. Rents are also going to increase. If you are on the fence about buying a home.... the numbers say it makes sense to do it sooner than later. I'm always available to help you!